Sarah asked you for help

"Damn it James! That quack is totally useless!" Sarah was steaming mad. Her frustration was clearly visible when she walked in the door.

"What's wrong?" you asked. "What did Dr. Jackson (the psychiatrist) do?"

She plopped down in one of the oversized living room chairs. You walked over and sat on the ottoman, pulling it close so you could face her. "Did he say something?"

She put her head in her hands. "That's the problem. He didn't do anything!"

You could see that she needed a moment, so you sat quietly, putting your hand on her leg as a sign of your presence and willingness to listen.

She took a deep breath and lifted her head to meet your gaze. "The other sessions he tried some hypnosis to relax me, along with some mental exercises to help me accept all this. And the prescriptions for anxiety and depression. But he wouldn't do anymore!"

She made a disgusted expression. "I just asked him to try to help me be able to pass as Renee. I said he could use hypnosis to help me focus on learning Renee's life and habits, maybe even help me think and act like her." She shook her head. "He said he was a professional, not 'some stage magician.' And that trying something like what I was asking would violate many professional ethics - that I was asking for a form of brainwashing."

"So what happened?" you prompted.

Sarah bit her lip. "Well, I kind of threw a fit. I screamed at him, called him, uh, well some very unpleasant names. And stormed out," she admitted in an ashamed tone. "But at least I got a long-term prescription for the meds he's been giving me. Luckily that was a the start of the session," she added.

You took both her hands in yours and looked into her eyes. It still felt a bit weird for you - to have this type of interaction with Renee. But living with Sarah like this for many weeks now had made it almost normal now, especially given how intimate you had become with Sarah in Renee's body. "So what do you want to do? I'll support you however you want to go," you offered.

Your touch and words had an effect, as did giving Sarah a chance to rant. Much of the tension had left her body and she gave you a half-smile. "I know, James, that's why I love you. You've been so supportive during all this. I know it can't be easy for you either." She leaned forward to give you kiss. You met it with open eyes, forcing youself to keep her gaze. It had taken quite awhile before you could do that, instinctively closing your eyes when you kissed (or did more!) so that you could imagaine Sarah with you instead of Renee. That had been one of the many hurdles YOU had worked on for yourself while still trying to help and support Sarah.

The two of you kissed for a few minutes before pulling apart. "Thanks Jim," she said in a soft voice. "I couldn't survive this without you." As she looked at you face, her gaze narrowed. "Hmm..." she said thoughtfully, "maybe...."

"What?" you questioned, feeling confused.

"I have an idea. It may sound crazy but hear me out," she said. You nodded. "Okay, go ahead..."

She continued. "Remember when we first started dating back in college? You and your friends - Ed, Roger, and the other guys - were pretty experimental."

"Yeah..." he responded. "We did a lot of crazy shit back then. Ed was always coming up with stuff to 'expand our minds' - pot, of course; whippets, X, LSD ... " You frowned when you realized what Sarah might be referring to. "You don't mean all the mental stuff? Transcendental meditation, hypnosis..."

"Exactly!" Sarah interjected. "You guys said I was one of the most suggestible people you ever worked on. Though you never let them try it after that one time."

Tom scoffed "Well you were starting to strip in the 2nd floor lounge!"

She rolled her eyes. "It really wasn't that big a deal. I mean, I was embarrassed a little afterwards. But come on! We were 20 and did much worse stuff than hypnosis party tricks!"

You shook your head. "Unh-Unh! Nope! Nada! I know what you're going to ask. It's a bad idea, even if I could still do it. Anyway, all that was really Ken's bailiwick."

Sarah expression and tone became more pleading. "Don't sell yourself short, Jim. You know you were pretty good at it - almost as skilled as Ken. All I want is for you to try. I really need this!"

The desperation in her voice tore at you. You knew how much she was struggling. Despite your reservations, you found yourself giving in after several more minutes of Sarah begging. You asked for some time to try to refresh your memories of the process. Really, though, you just needed a moment to clear your head - you remembered those times almost as if it were yesterday.

Sarah took that time to pull together a collection of Renee's things: some of her journals, her computer with her email and social media pages pulled up, and some videos she'd saved. She wanted you to hypnotize her so that she would better remember and internalize as much of Renee's life as she could.

Once you were both ready, you had her sit back in the most comfortable chair you had, close her eyes and listen to your voice. You started walking her through the old relaxation exercises Ken had come up with, the process coming back to you with ease. As in your college days Sarah went under swiftly. After you had gone through several simple exercises to get her deeper into a suggestive state, you began in earnest.